Master processing apparatuses, such as laminating apparatuses and adhesive transfer apparatuses, are well-known in the art. These apparatuses typically include a frame to which a pair of feed rolls are mounted (either individually or in cartridge). A master processing assembly is provided in the frame and the stock materials on the feed roll are unwound and fed into the processing assembly. A power-operated or hand-operated actuator may be included in the master processing apparatus to actuate the processing assembly. A master (such as a photograph, printout, business card or any other selected substrate or document) to be processed is fed into the processing assembly and the processing assembly causes adhesive from one or both the stock materials to bond to the master.
In laminating operations, both stock materials are laminating films coated with pressure-sensitive or heat-sensitive adhesive and these films are both adhered to the opposing sides of the master. In adhesive transfer operations, one of the stock materials is a release liner on which a layer of adhesive is coated and the other is an aggressive or non-aggressive mask. During the operation, the adhesive on the release liner is transferred to one side of the master and, if the mask substrate is aggressive (i.e. has an affinity for adhesive bonding), then any excess adhesive will transfer to the mask substrate, which is then peeled off to expose the master on the release liner and remove the excess adhesive. For further details on these operations, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,580,417 and 5,584,962.
In any master processing apparatus, the feed rolls of stock material must periodically be replaced. The above-mentioned '962 patent discloses an advantageous arrangement that facilitates loading the lead ends of the stock materials in between the nip rollers of a master processing assembly. In the '962 patent, the upper portion of the frame pivots relative to the bottom portion between open and closed positions. An upper nip roller is rotatably mounted on the upper frame portion and a lower nip roller is rotatably mounted on the lower frame portion. As a result, pivoting the upper frame portion to its open position separates the nip rollers to facilitate placement of the stock material lead ends between the nip rollers. Upon moving the upper frame portion to its closed position, the nip rollers will be engaged together in pressure applying relation.
It is advantageous, however, that the nip rollers be accurately aligned with one another when they are engaged in pressure applying relation. If the rollers are not properly aligned (by being, for example, parallel, but spaced too far apart, or by being skewed out of parallel alignment with one another), they cannot apply equal, uniform pressure to all portions of the sheets of stock material therebetween and the resulting final product may be of inferior or unacceptable quality. In the construction of the '962 patent, if wear occurs at the pivotal connection between the upper and lower frame portions, then the frame portions may unintentionally shift relative to one another due to the loose play in the pivotal connection. As a result, the nip rollers may not be brought into proper pressure applying relation when brought together during movement of the upper frame portion into the closed position thereof.
To obviate the above-described problem, one aspect of the present invention provides a master processing apparatus for use with a pair of removable feed rolls, each carrying a supply of stock material to be unwound and at least one of the stock materials having a layer of adhesive provided thereon. The apparatus includes a frame having a first frame portion and a second frame portion movably connected for movement relative to one another between open and closed positions. A pair of cooperating pressure applying structures are mounted within the frame, the cooperating structures being constructed and arranged to be positioned adjacent one another in a cooperating pressure applying relationship wherein, when the master with the first and second stock materials on opposing sides thereof and the adhesive contacting the master is positioned between the cooperating structures, the cooperating structures apply pressure to the master and stock materials as they pass therebetween so as to affect adhesive bonding between the master and the stock materials. One of the pair of cooperating pressure applying structures is mounted on the first frame portion and the other of the pair of cooperating pressure applying structures is mounted on the second frame portion such that (a) movement of the frame portions into their open positions moves the pressure applying structures apart from one another into an open access position to facilitate positioning of the stock materials therebetween and (b) movement of the frame portions into their closed positions moves the pressure applying structures into engagement with one another and into pressure applying engagement with the portion of the stock materials positioned therebetween. The apparatus further includes guiding structure providing a guiding surface constructed and arranged to guide the movement of the pressure applying structures into their engaged positions.
It is also known in the art to provide a cutting apparatus on a master processing apparatus at the discharge opening to sever the processed master from the continuous supply of stock material. For example, International Application PCT US98/23237 and the counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,322 discloses a master processing apparatus wherein the cutting apparatus has a cutting blade that is moved transversely to cut through the processed stock materials. In the disclosed arrangement, the blade is always positioned so that transverse movement thereof will cut through the materials on the apparatus' exit tray or other substrate supporting surface. Specifically, the blade extends into a groove to ensure that lateral movement thereof cuts through the materials on that surface. This arrangement presents a risk of accidentally cutting through the master by moving the blade by bumping into or otherwise accidentally contacting the blade carrier and pushing the blade edge into contact with the master. Likewise, the user could accidentally cut the processed stock materials at the wrong point. In either of these situations, the operation must be performed over again.
To solve the problem described above, another aspect of the present invention provides a master processing apparatus for use with a pair of removable feed rolls, the removable feed rolls each carrying a supply of stock material to be unwound and at least one of the stock materials having a layer of adhesive provided thereon. The apparatus includes a frame constructed and arranged to removably mount the feed rolls. The frame is constructed and arranged such that, when the feed rolls are removably mounted thereto, a master can be inserted into the master processing assembly together with the stock materials unwound from their respective feed rolls and disposed on opposing sides of the master. The master processing assembly is constructed and arranged to perform a master processing operation wherein the processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between the master and the stock materials fed into the feed side thereof and subsequently discharges the processed master and stock materials outwardly from a discharge side thereof. The frame provides a substrate supporting surface positioned on the discharge side of the processing assembly. The substrate processing surface is configured to receive and support the processed master and stock materials discharged from the processing assembly in a substantially flat relation. A cutting assembly is disposed on the discharge side of the master processing assembly. The cutting assembly includes a guide member extending transversely with respect to the frame and a blade mounted on the guide member for guided transverse cutting movement therealong. The guide member is movably mounted to the frame for selective manual movement between (a) an inoperative position wherein the blade is positioned in spaced relation above the substrate supporting surface to prevent the blade from cutting through the processed master and stock materials and (b) an operative position wherein the blade is positioned such that a portion thereof extends downwardly below the substrate supporting surface so that the downward extent of the blade portion enables the blade to cut through an entire thickness of the processed master and stock materials during the transverse cutting movement.
Because at least one of the stock materials on the feed rolls is coated with an adhesive, it is advantageous that the unwound portions of the sheets of stock material not be exposed to dust or debris. Generally, the unwound portions of the stock materials extend between the associated feed roll and the master processing assembly. The stock material sheets are oriented such that the adhesive-coated side generally faces the feed opening of the apparatus. Thus, it is particularly advantageous to prevent debris from entering the feed opening of the apparatus when the master processing apparatus is not in use to prevent or reduce the chance of exposure of each adhesive layer to debris and foreign matter. In the event that debris or other foreign matter becomes adhered on the adhesive layer, it can reduce the effectiveness of the adhesive's bonding and, if the stock material is a transparent laminating film, can degrade the resulting product's appearance.
To solve this problem, another aspect of the present invention provides a master processing apparatus for use with a pair of removable feed rolls, each removable feed roll carrying a supply of stock material to be unwound and at least one of the stock materials having a layer of adhesive provided thereon. The apparatus includes a frame constructed and arranged to removably mount the feed rolls. The frame has an opening at a feed side thereof. A master processing assembly is mounted in the frame. The frame is constructed and arranged such that, when the feed rolls are removably mounted thereto, a master can be inserted through the opening on the feed side of the frame and into the master processing assembly together with the stock materials unwound from their respective feed rolls and disposed on opposing sides of the master. The master processing assembly is constructed and arranged to perform a master processing operation wherein the processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between the master and stock materials being fed in a feed side thereof and subsequently discharges the processed master and stock materials outwardly from a discharge side thereof. A feed tray having a substrate supporting surface is movably mounted to the frame on the feed side of the master processing assembly for selective movement between (a) an operative position wherein the tray extends outwardly from the master processing assembly with the substrate supporting surface thereof positioned to support the master in substantially flat relation during feeding of the master into the master processing assembly and (b) an inoperative position wherein the tray is positioned in covering relation to the opening of the frame to inhibit ingress of undesired objects into the master processing assembly via the opening.
Now turning to another aspect of the invention, in conventional apparatuses, the operator initially pushes the master through the feed opening in the apparatus and into engagement with the nip rollers. The master is supported on a feed tray from the feed opening to the nip rollers. Once the master is engaged with the nip rollers, the driving rotational movement of the nip rollers pulls the unlaminated portion of the master through the nip rollers and pushes the laminated portion toward the discharge opening. The portion of the master that is being laminated should be flat and wrinkle free. It is known to provide a wiper on the feed side of the nip rollers to smooth and tension the master as it is being pulled between the nip rollers. This smoothing action assures a wrinkle-free final laminated product. An example of a wiper for tensioning the master is shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,806 to Bradshaw et. al. The wiper is mounted on the feed tray of the apparatus and is manually operable by manipulating a spring biased arm that extends out of the feed opening of the '806 apparatus. It is desirable to engage and smooth the master as close to the nip rollers as possible. It is also desirable to mount the feed rolls in a cartridge that can be easily installed in and removed from the apparatus yet have the feed rolls as close to the nip rollers as possible to minimize the length of the unwound portion of the stock materials between feed rolls and the nip rollers. However, positioning both the feed rolls and the wiper close to the nip rollers, as shown in the '806 patent, has heretofore has required the cartridge and apparatus to be designed such that the cartridge is moved forwardly over the feed tray for mounting to the rear side of the apparatus.
To obviate the need for such a construction, another aspect of the present invention provides a removable cartridge to be used in conjunction with a master processing apparatus for processing a master, the apparatus including a frame and a master processing assembly constructed and arranged to perform a master processing operation wherein the processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between substrates fed therein. The cartridge includes a cartridge body structure constructed and arranged to be removably mounted to the apparatus frame. The first and second feed rolls each carry a supply of first and second stock materials and are mounted to the cartridge body structure to enable the stock materials to be unwound from their respective feed rolls. At least one of the stock materials has a layer of adhesive disposed thereon. The cartridge body structure and the first and second feed rolls are constructed and arranged such that, when the cartridge body structure is removably mounted to the apparatus frame, the master can be inserted into the master processing assembly of the apparatus with the first and second stock materials being unwound from their respective feed rolls and disposed on opposing sides of the master, thereby enabling the actuator to be operated to cause the processing assembly to perform the aforesaid master processing operation. During the master processing operation, the master processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between the first and second stock materials and the master fed therein and then subsequently discharges the processed master and stock materials. The cartridge has a substrate supporting member extending between the sidewalls thereof that provides a substrate supporting surface. The substrate supporting member is positioned with respect to the cartridge body structure such that, when the cartridge body structure is removably mounted to the apparatus frame, the substrate supporting surface thereof is positioned on the feed side of the master processing assembly. The substrate supporting surface is configured to support the master in substantially flat relation during feeding of the master into the master processing assembly. The cartridge includes a master engaging structure extending generally transversely across the substrate supporting surface. The master substrate engaging structure has a master engaging surface that engages the master while supported on the substrate supporting surface so as to apply frictional resistance to advancement of the master in a feeding direction to thereby tension the master. This arrangement allows the apparatus to use a removable cartridge architecture of the vertically inserted type and allows the master engaging structure to be positioned close to the processing assembly to thereby minimize the length of the master left untensioned after the trailing edge of the master passes the engaging structure. Alternatively, this aspect of the invention could be applied to horizontally inserted cartridges.
With respect to another aspect of the invention, typically each feed roll is comprised of the tubular core and a supply of stock material wound around the core. Each feed roll is rotatably mounted within the frame by a pair of end caps mounted at each end of the core. Typically a core is constructed of cardboard or similar material. Prior constructions use glue to mount the end caps to the core. Glue is applied, for example, to the interior at each end of the core, an end cap is inserted in each end of the core, and the glue is allowed to dry. There are many problems with this construction and method of construction. First, glue is difficult to apply to the interior ends on a tube, particularly in an automated process. Glue is also messy and time-consuming because the manufacturing process must be paused to allow time for the glue to dry. It would be advantageous to provide a method of mounting an end cap to a tubular core that is fast, reliable, economical and that does not involve the use of a glue.
Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention provides a feed roll configured to be mounted into a frame of a master processing apparatus in which a master processing operation is performed, the feed roll including a tubular core carrying a supply of a stock material wound thereon and a pair of end caps. Each end cap has a tubular core securing portion and a mounting portion connected to the core securing portion. The mounting portion of each end cap is constructed and arranged to allow the core and the stock material to be rotatably mounted to the apparatus frame in an operative position to enable the stock material to be unwound for the master processing operation. The core securing portions are inserted in opposing ends of the core and a pair of expansion members are inserted into the core securing portion of each end cap to radially expand the core securing portions of the end caps into a force fit relation with the interior surface of the core to secure the end caps to the core.
The end caps are used to rotatably mount each end of a feed roll within a frame. The free end of the strip of stock material on each roll is then threaded through the nip rollers. An unwound portion of each strip of stock material extends generally from the associated feed roll to the nip rollers. The driving action of the nip rollers during a master processing operation pulls the strips of stock material therebetween, thereby causing each feed roll to rotate in a sheet-unwinding direction. It is not desirable for the feed rolls to rotate at a rate faster than is required by the rotation of the nip rollers because this may cause wrinkling of the stock materials on the master or may cause the adhesive-coated side of one or both unwound portions of stock material to adhere to themselves. Prior art feed rolls have been of the “freewheeling” type which provide no significant resistance to the rotational movement of each feed roll in an unwinding direction. There is a need for a feed roll mounting structure that provides sufficient resistance to the rotational movement of each feed roll in an unwinding direction to prevent each feed roll from rotating at a rate faster than is required to feed the nip rollers. To meet this need, the present invention provides a feed roll assembly to be used in conjunction with an apparatus for performing a master processing operation, the apparatus including a frame and a master processing assembly constructed and arranged to perform a master processing operation wherein the processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between adhesive carrying substrates fed therein. The feed roll assembly includes a feed roll having a core about which a supply of stock material is wound and a generally radially extending annular flange fixedly mounted at an opposing end of the core. The feed roll assembly further includes feed roll mounting structure constructed and arranged to removably mount the feed roll to the frame of the apparatus. The feed roll mounting structure provides a pre-tension brake which provides a pair of brake surfaces frictionally engaging opposing sides of the flange such that, when the feed roll mounting structure is removably mounted on the apparatus frame and the stock material is being unwound from the core, the core with the flange fixed thereon rotates relative to the feed roll mounting structure so that braking friction is created between the core and the braking surfaces of the pre-tensioning brake.
When one or stock materials is coated with an adhesive, the force required to unwind the stock materials varies, depending on the radius of the roll. Generally, the larger the radius of the roll, the more force is required to unwind the stock materials. This change in the amount of force required to unwind the stock materials is disadvantageous. Generally it is better to provide the apparatus with a more consistent feel to make operation of the apparatus easier for the operator. Accordingly, the present invention also provides a master processing apparatus for use with a pair of removable feed rolls, the removable feed rolls each carrying a supply of stock material to be unwound, at least one of the stock materials having a layer of adhesive provided thereon. The apparatus includes a frame having an opening at a feed side thereof, a pair of feed roll mounting structures constructed and arranged to removably rotatably mount the pair of feed rolls in the frame for unwinding rotational movement of the feed rolls with respect to the frame and a master processing assembly. The frame is constructed and arranged such that, when the feed rolls are removably mounted thereto, a master can be inserted through the opening in the feed side of the frame and into the master processing assembly together with the stock materials unwound from their respective feed rolls and disposed on opposing sides of the master. The master processing assembly is constructed and arranged to perform a master processing operation wherein the processing assembly causes adhesive bonding between the master and stock materials being fed in a feed side thereof and subsequently discharges the processed master and stock materials outwardly from a discharge side thereof. Each feed roll mounting structure is constructed and arranged to apply braking tension to the associated feed roll such that the braking tension progressively decreases as the stock material carried on the associated feed roll is unwound.
Other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.